[ruggedamerican]

I stopped by my local gun shop today and saw the Ruger Max-9 and I was really impressed by the size and feel of the pistol! I was wondering if any of you can give me any feedback about the pistol and tell me about any good recommendations on red dots?

 

[marvin02]

A search will turn up a number of threads here about the Max-9.

I have one with 600+ rounds through it with no issues. About 400 rounds are after I put the red dot on it. For me it is a good fit in my hand, I can shoot it as well as I can any gun that size and it will fit in a pocket. I almost always use the 12 round mags since I get a full grip with those.

Common reported problems are that the slide locks back before the magazine is empty and that the door over the takedown pin won't stay in place allowing the pin to start coming out jamming the gun. I have had neither of these issues.

The slide is machined for a Shield RMSc red dot. I have a Holosun 407k on mine. Ruger made the rear mounting pins for an optic removable. The Shield RMSc uses all four pins, the Holosun-407k and 507k only use the 2 front pins.

 

[Old Gray]

I have a Max 9. I do not have a red dot on it but did replace the blacked out rear sight with a tritium rear sight from Night Fision. I have put several hundred rounds through it and I have had no issues with it feeding, firing, or ejecting. If possible, rent or borrow one, shoot it, and see what you think.

 

[marvin02]

If possible, rent or borrow one, shoot it, and see what you think.

Many ranges will have the Max-9, always try before you buy.

 

[dweis]

Many ranges will have the Max-9, always try before you buy.

Now that is the best advice when purchasing a gun. It might feel good in the hand over the counter, but the real test is in the range with 100 rounds of ammo.

 

[MitchSC]

My Son-in -law just got one. IMO it is a LC9s with a staggered magazine. I compared his the Max 9 to my LC9. There are some upgrades but the only mechanical difference I could see is the grip does not taper to the trigger, is more rounded and thicker. The mag tapers from single feed to interface the LC9s slide to a staggered. the walls of the grip are thinner to help reduce the thickness. To me it lost it's pocket-ability and feel I bought the LC9s for but it shoots well.

 

[leadhead2]

I just bought a Taurus G2c pistol and have found it to be a very good CC fire arm.
It fits my hand better than the Max 9 and just feels a lot better.
I will be selling the Max 9 in the near furture.
leadhead

 

[blackmesa96]

Like any pistol, you can find good and not so good reviews. If you can shoot one first, do so. If you like it after that, buy it. It's your money, and perhaps more importantly, your life it may be called upon to protect.

Then, train with it. Not new advice, but valid still. Very few of us can hope to be competent, much less proficient, with a gun we haven't shot much.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I just bought a Taurus G2c pistol and have found it to be a very good CC fire arm.
It fits my hand better than the Max 9 and just feels a lot better.
I will be selling the Max 9 in the near furture.
leadhead

I have a G3c and love it, excellent pistol. Taurus really did this one right. It takes Glock compatible sights so I can have the same setup as my 19, 26, and 42. I compared the G3c to the new Taurus GX4, Ruger Max-9, and Springfield Hellcat at the same shop. When you get them side by side you find that the latter three are really not much smaller at all and cost more. The G3c with three mags goes for $269.95 every day around here, what's not to like?

 

[Old Gray]

I also have a Taurus G2C. The quality control, in my opinion, has gotten much better over the years.

 

[illinibuckeye]

I own a g3c and a Springfield hellcat. I’ve also used a gx4 and a Taurus g2c. I’ll say that I agree for the money the g3c is a fine firearm. The g2c is about the same, but the g3c is more refined. If you are on a budget and you want the size of the max 9, look at the gx4. The one catch is they do not make one with a manual safety if you care about that feature.

The hellcat should be in the same size range as the gx4 or max 9. I like my hellcat, it’s a good shooter and I can pocket carry it. Truth be told however the g3c is slightly larger but I can still pocket carry that as well.

I’ve not tried the max 9, but from the photos what I don’t like already is the take down. It looks similar to the ruger ec9s I used to own. Not a bad gun but sometimes my take down pin was a pain to get back in to get the gun re assembled after cleaning. So I’d look at the g3c on the budget and. Gx4 if you want budget and the max 9 size. As well as the hellcat and the p365. Some like the mp shield plus. Never tried one so no experience there. That all said though the max 9 doesn’t look like a bad gun, I just don’t dig their takedown system.

This is a personal preference but on my hellcat I added a hogue beavertail grip. The hellcat grip is kind of squared off so that helps. I actually installed one on my g3c as well. So something like that may be a consideration depending.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I gave my G3c some exercise yesterday. With my pet load of 3.8 grains HP-38/.357 130 grain LFP/1.072 OAL it will put them all into a single hole at 10 yards on those rare days that my shaky hands cooperate. Another thing I like is the single action trigger pull really smooths out after a few hundred rounds. I wish my Glocks had as nice a trigger pull. After thousands of rounds they are pretty close but still not as good as this pistol that costs half as much.

 

[Aqualung]

Gotta love the internet...OP asks for info on Gun #1 and gets replies about Gun #2, Gun #3 and Gun #4...

I bought a MAX-9 and have put about 250 rounds through it without any of the malfunctions others have reported. Perhaps it's a matter of time, or maybe I have a unit that was made after all the early users identified the bugs and subsequent fixes.

I found it to me a great replacement for my Kahr MK9, as it's significantly lighter, even though it holds almost twice the rounds.

I did do one thing however, I changed the trigger to the Galloway Precision Maxxis Short-Stroke Trigger. Being used to the long, steady trigger pull of the Kahr, I thought I'd be OK with the MAX-9's long pull. It ended up feeling a bit strange to me, so I changed the trigger to the Maxxis **

I think a lot of criticisms of the MAX-9 are a bit nitpicky..."feels cheap", "rattles", takedown pin design should be different, etc. It's a tool for use, not a museum piece or a collector piece. It's a workhorse in the Ruger style, not necessarily a beauty, but it'll do the job. I think the detractors are expecting a bit much in some cases (not those that have experienced function issues, that's different).

As others have mentioned, I'd suggest trying one out if you have an opportunity, because no matter what our advice is, any gun needs to fit you and satisfy you...no one else.

Aqualung

** Let's not derail the thread with all the inevitable Ayoobisms that a carry gun must nevereverevereverever be modified...

 

[illinibuckeye]

Regarding takedown, won’t bash the gun as I’ve never fired one, but I will say when I had my ruger ec9s, the last time I cleaned it, having to use a tool to hammer the takedown pin back in just didn’t seem proper imo. But ruger does have a good rep.

 

[marvin02]

having to use a tool to hammer the takedown pin back in just didn’t seem proper imo.

You are correct, that isn't proper. I owned an EC9S and now own the Max-9. On both the takedown pins would easily reinsert into the guns.

 

[illinibuckeye]

Yeah mine never was really like that but previously I could always push the pin by hand. I was sure I had it inserted right and just used a pair of pliers I had handy as a hammer and sold it after that. Gun always worked ok and was accurate. I guess once I started seeing smaller double stack guns I lost interest in the ec9s. But it really was a decent little gun especially after I put a hogue grip on it.

 

[Lefty_Red]

One thing I can say about the Max 9 is that it’s more accurate and shoots better than it should. Doesn’t fit my hand as good as my 365 with WC grip module, but then I didn’t have to dump more money in it either,

‘ If I got the Pro version, would definitely add the GP trigger. Makes it safer and has a better feel. No negatives I can think of.

Lefty